THE Taxes that fund social insurance
FEDERAL
programs, primarily Social
Security and Medicare’s
Hospital Insurance program Individual
Income
BUDGET
Taxes
Payroll
Taxes Revenues 8.1% of GDP
$1.7 Trillion
5.9% of GDP
16.3% $3.5
IN 2019
$1.2 Trillion
of GDP Trillion
Other
Excise taxes, estate 1.3% of GDP
Net and gift taxes,
Interest $271 Billion
Mandatory 1.8% of GDP
customs duties,
remittances from the
Spending $375 Billion
Federal Reserve,
and miscellaneous Corporate
12.9% $2.7 Social
fees and fines Income Taxes
1.1% of GDP
of GDP Trillion Security $230 Billion
4.9% of GDP Defense
$1.0 Trillion 3.2% of GDP
$676 Billion
Discretionary
Outlays Spending
Medicare 21.0% $4.4 Nondefense
6.3% $1.3
of GDP Trillion
3.0% of GDP of GDP Trillion 3.1% of GDP
$644 Billion $661 Billion
Medicaid Other Outlays for many programs related
1.9% of GDP
3.0% of GDP to transportation, education,
Outlays for $409 Billion
$642 Billion veterans’ benefits, health, housing
Medicare minus assistance, and other activities
income from
premiums and
other offsetting
receipts
Outlays for unemployment compensation, federal civilian
and military retirement, some veterans’ benefits, the
earned income tax credit, the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, and other mandatory programs,
minus income from offsetting receipts
CATEGORIES
OF THE
BUDGET
Mandatory Discretionary
Spending Spending Net Interest Revenues
Primarily payments for Spending that lawmakers The government’s Funds collected from the
benefit programs for control through annual interest payments on public that arise from the
which laws set eligibility appropriation acts debt held by the public, government’s exercise of
rules and benefit formulas offset by interest income its sovereign powers
the government receives
Annual Deficit
Federal Deficits or Surpluses, 1970 to 2019 or Surplus =
Percentage of Gross Domestic Product
Revenues − Outlays
DEFICITS
AND THE
DEBT
To fund government
0 spending in years of
deficits, the
government borrows
from individuals,
−5 Average Deficit, businesses, and other
1970 to 2019
countries by selling
them Treasury
−10 securities
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
3.0% 4.6% $ 1.0 43% 79%
of GDP of GDP Trillion of GDP of GDP
Deficit, on average, Deficit in Deficit in Debt held by the Debt held by the
over the past 50 2019 2019 public, on average, public at the end
years over the past 50 years of 2019
Federal Debt Held by the Public, 1970 to 2019
Percentage of Gross Domestic Product
80
Debt Average Debt,
60 1970 to 2019
Debt held by the public is
roughly equal to the sum of 40
annual deficits and surpluses.
20
0
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Prepared by Christine Bogusz, Aaron Feinstein, Dan Ready, and Jorge Salazar All data are for federal fiscal years,
Source: Congressional Budget Office, April 2020 which run from October 1 to September 30.
Numbers may not add up to totals because of rounding.
